Those of you Kossacks who might have had occasion to read any of my comments over the last year know that I frequently speak of the need for a new economic paradigm. The release of the latest IPCC report and the news of the certain collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet make that need all the more pressing. Human civilization has now reached a crisis point where the choices we make in the very near future will irrevocably determine the fate of countless generations of all forms of life on this planet, including our own descendants.
An unsettling number of observers and analysts have looked at our situation and become convinced that collapse is now unavoidable; they see absolutely no likelihood for the type of system-wide transformation that is needed at this point. I can’t say that I blame them, frankly. Things really do look pretty bleak and hopeless.
I cannot and will not share that sentiment, however; I am by nature an optimistic person and believe that a fundamental shift in society’s trajectory is still possible.
I recently submitted an abstract for a paper I am writing on this subject to the journal ephemera, which was accepted for inclusion in an upcoming special issue on Organizing for the Post-Growth Economy. This and my next four diaries are an adapted version of the presentation I was invited to give at last week’s related Post-Growth Conference at the Copenhagen Business School but which I was unable to attend. And so, I shall present my thoughts on this subject to you, my fellow Kossacks. I hope you enjoy them. Below the fold, then, shall we?